For release on November 1, 2008
Announcing: Winners Of National Leadership Awards In Aging Education
New York, NY -The Hartford Partnership Program for Aging Education (HPPAE) today announced its first annual Leadership Awards. HPPAE is a nationwide initiative to recruit and train social workers who specialize in aging care- at a time when the American population is aging, with 1 in 5 Americans expected to be 65 or older in 2030.
The award recipients were drawn from educators, students, and community agencies who have demonstrated leadership qualities through their engagement with HPPAE, which consists of a master's level educational model developed by the Social Work Leadership Institute at the New York Academy of Medicine with funding from the John A. Hartford Foundation. The HPPAE model is currently being used to educate students at one-third of the nation's graduate social work programs.
"The individuals receiving the 2008 HPPAE leadership award embody the intelligence, commitment, and innovative thinking that are critical in the rapidly evolving field of aging education," said Patricia Volland, Director of the Social Work Leadership Program at the New York Academy of Medicine. "As America's population ages, we will increasingly rely on the foresight of the award winners and their colleagues who are helping to bring us into an age-friendly future."
The 2008 award winners are:
- Outstanding Dean: Paula Allen-Meares, Dean Emeritus, University of Michigan School of Social Work
- Outstanding Field Director: Patricia Kolar, Professor, University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work
- Outstanding Student: Diana Nugel, Graduate, Rutgers University School of Social Work
- Outstanding Community Partner: June Simmons, President and CEO, Partners in Care Foundation, Los Angeles, CA
The HPPAE Leadership Award Winners were recognized at a special reception at the Council on Social Work Education's Annual Program Meeting, held in Philadelphia on November 1, 2008.
The Hartford Partnership Program in Aging Education (HPPAE) is a 12-year initiative to recruit and train the next generation of social workers who specialize in aging by transforming how geriatric education is taught at Masters of Social Work programs nationwide.
Funded with support from the John A. Hartford Foundation, the program is anchored by local partnerships between universities and community-based agencies that serve older adults. At its heart is a unique fieldwork model that rotates students through different agencies so they gain a rich perspective of the full spectrum of aging and of the diverse services that older adults and their care givers need. To date, 72 programs have been funded in 33 states and 80 percent of HPPAE graduates have gone to pursue careers in the field of aging.
Social Work Leadership Institute is a national initiative working to ensure that America's older adults receive the care they need to live life to the fullest - and that their caregivers also get the support they deserve. It is housed at The New York Academy of Medicine, an independent, non-partisan, non-profit institution whose mission is to enhance the health of the public through research, education, advocacy, and prevention.
